by Laurence Hammack | Jan 27, 2008 | Miscellaneous (mostly animals)
With a bleak winter sky as the only roof over her head, Sandra Coates took shelter Thursday afternoon on a sofa in the downtown Roanoke library. She agreed to put down her book long enough to answer some questions from Ricardo Valdivieso, a case manager for the...
by Laurence Hammack | Oct 15, 2007 | Prisons
She had to try hard to get there, but Linda Lee Kraige is where she wants to be: an isolation cell on the first floor of the Roanoke County-Salem Jail. Wearing a blaze orange jumpsuit that makes her long white hair all the more striking, Kraige smiles often during an...
by Laurence Hammack | Aug 5, 2007 | Health care
When all of the area psychiatric centers are full, as they often are, the emergency room at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital becomes a holding cell of sorts for the mentally ill. In recent months, as many as 12 mental patients at a time have been forced to wait in...
by Laurence Hammack | May 12, 2007 | Addiction/drug abuse
The headline on the company news release was boastful, almost cocky: “65-0: OxyContin cases against Purdue Pharma dismissed at a record rate.” It was the winter of 2003, and Purdue was celebrating its 65th straight victory in the fight against lawsuits...
by Laurence Hammack | Mar 29, 2007 | Miscellaneous (mostly animals)
Standing at the podium in a Roanoke courtroom, Terry Grimes was in the midst of arguing a fine point of the law when he was startled by the dog sniffing at his pants leg. Your Honor, Grimes told Judge James Turk, there’s a dog in the courtroom. Yes, the judge...